The Medical Mark on the Mystical Male Membrane

Presented by Vanier College, Office of the Master, in partnership with the Department of Humanities and the Centre for Jewish Studies.

Doctors, Mohels, and the Problem of Routine Circumcision 1924-64, presented by David S. Koffman.

Routine, neonatal medical circumcision for non-Jewish males in the middle of the 20th century in North America put Jews in a predicament. This talk argues that mohels (performers of Jewish ritual circumcision) viewed contemporary science as both a legitimating force to the ancient Jewish rite and, simultaneously, as a dangerous encroachment to its spiritual and religious significance.

David Koffman is assistant professor in York University's Department of History, where he teaches the modern Jewish experience and American religious history. He is the co-editor of the journal Canadian Jewish Studies.